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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26408929">Locked Down Together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ourfandomcrazyuniverse/pseuds/Ourfandomcrazyuniverse'>Ourfandomcrazyuniverse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Starkid, Team Starkid - Fandom, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid, tgwdlm - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>...but only a one liner doesn’t matter too much, As well as hc abt Linda being Emma’s aunt..., Cuddles, F/M, Henry and Emma got the father daughter vibe goin on, Just some fluffy looking after the other and bit of domesticity, Most ppl are mentioned lol, bit of angst but mostly them comforting each other abt it, just sofd touches</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:02:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,887</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26408929</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ourfandomcrazyuniverse/pseuds/Ourfandomcrazyuniverse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma has just moved in with Paul when it’s announced Hatchetfield will be put on lockdown for the quarantine. It’s a hard time for everyone. But at least they have each other</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Emma Perkins x Paul matthews, Emma Perkins/Paul Mathews, Henry Hidgens &amp; Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, paul matthews x Emma perkins, paulkins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Locked Down Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Made loads of quarantine ideas when it started and FUCK IT it’s happening now im writing em I’m sick of it but also happy to stay home and stay safe</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The island had just gotten the order today.</p><p>Tomorrow nearly everything non-essential would be closed and the entire island would be on lockdown. </p><p>It was crazy times, and unfortunately everyone was having to live through it. Not many people ever thought when it started that this is where’d they be, not on their tiny island. But this is what it had come to. </p><p>Panic buying had been the worst, but Emma got off a few hours before Paul, plus, she was much more likely to fight back. So when she saw some asshole grabbing a whole rack of toilet papers she wasn’t afraid to call them out and even pull on the box so they all splattered everywhere, but at least out of his hands. She knew it was her aunt Linda’s husband too but she didn’t care. She got her pack and left the rest to the other families in the convenience store. After all, it was only her and Paul living together. </p><p>They’d been talking about it for a while. Well she knew Paul wanted to ask way before that but she was the one who eventually brought it up as a possibility, when she was ready. But that was only about a month ago but as the worry settled that one day they might reach a quarantine, like this, they both decided to just go for it. Emma wanted to move in anyways. Her apartment was small and shitty and Paul had a nice small house from working for years instead of backpacking everywhere. Besides, it was nice to not be alone. It was nice to be wanted, and she really did love Paul. She felt safe living with him.</p><p>She couldn’t believe that they’d moved the last piece of furniture literally hours before the official announcement. All they had to do was unpack now, and it wasn’t like they’d have anything else important to do.</p><p>It had been a sad day though. Nora was crying all day, terrified all her hard work would come crashing down, and Emma had been scrolling through the news too. There was very little about how independent businesses would be protected. But even Nora understood there were just too many priorities right now. </p><p>She thought Paul would be happy bringing home a whole stock of coffee beans and pastries, no matter how shitty, and she let Zoey keep a bunch of the fancy syrups and sweeteners and flavourings. Stuff Paul and her wouldn’t really want. Basically anything perishable, the workers had to sort amongst themselves. At least Nora didn’t want it to go to waste. </p><p>But God if Emma couldn’t tell Zoey was either gonna become an alcoholic or a health guru no matter how little or long this lasted. She wouldn’t do well with no socialising but at least she had a bunch of housemates, whom Emma was sure would influence her one way or the other.</p><p>After everything was locked up, Emma actually hugged Nora and Zoey goodbye. And they were long hugs. She didn’t want to let go. Nora had a grip like a parent and God she always got shocked no matter how many times how nice a hugger Zoey was when she really tried. With her long arms and smooth skin and nice smelling hair, Emma didn’t want to let go of either of them. They all just knew they weren’t gonna get any outside contact with other people for a while.</p><p>Emma put all the groceries away, just where she saw Paul put things, and waited for him on the couch. She didn’t even try unpacking, she just had the local news in the background as she checked more nationwide and even global stuff on her phone. It probably wasn’t a good thing to do for two hours straight but fuck if they weren’t living through a historical moment. </p><p>When she heard the front door key she bolted forwards, not even letting Paul take a step into his own- their home, before she had jumped on him and wrapped her legs all the way around his hips, probably blinding him with her own head. She stuck her hands out behind his head to push against the porch wall as he stumbled back, steadying them both. </p><p>But when he sighed, and dropped his bags to just hold her back, Emma relaxed with her forehead against his, and for what felt like the first time today she could finally close her burning eyes. Fuck she was still seeing her phone screen light through them.</p><p>“Hey.” Paul got out. His voice sounded gravelly, low energy...</p><p>“Hey.” Emma responded, much the same.</p><p>He picked up the bags and carried them, and Emma, over to the couch. Dropping them carelessly onto the floor and instead of unpacking the frozens, moving Emma onto his lap. He kissed her deeply, slow and domestic, but deeply. Paul was hardly one to initiate big kisses, not without asking first anyway. It was always cute. But Emma did like not taking the lead this one time. She and Paul just needed this moment. </p><p>Paul turned the tv off, neither of them wanting to hear the news right now, and moved his hand to cup Emmas face while she lay on him. Then he stopped. </p><p>Emma felt the air of his hand wavering around her cheek, but not touching. She, after some hesitance from her own body, slowly removed her lips from his hold and opened her eyes, pouting, before trying to lean her cheek into his hand herself. He pulled back. Her eyes glistened further until she understood. “Yeah. You should probably wash your hands before.”</p><p>She leant over, still keeping one arm wrapped around his collar, and reached into her handbag, pulling out a small almost empty bottle of orange hand sanitizer she’d been using for months, but she now had two spare for real purposes. One for her and own for Paul of course. She took his wrist by the cuffs of his shirt and opened his palms, squeezing the drops onto his hand and just watched his big calloused hands go. She leant her cheek on his shoulder, needing the comfort now, but she also didn’t want him to smell like her right now, even though she sometimes liked that, liked to know he was with her so much and so surrounded by her and her life he carried that with him, but she needed <em>him.</em> His presence, his comforting smell, his voice, his touch, his warmth. </p><p>“I’ll wash my hands after I’m done putting the groceries away too.”</p><p>Fuck she was glad she moved in with him. </p><p>“Yeah, I hope we didn’t like, both accidentally panic buy and stock up unnecessarily. Then I’d feel like shit.” She added.</p><p>Paul shook his head, trying to soothe her by running his hand up and down her back. Emma reached for him and got his fingers to pull her work shirt loose from her shorts at the back, urging him to do the action he knew she liked and rake his nails up her bare spine, still under her shirt.</p><p>Paul continued the repetitive movement, liking doing it almost as much as she liked having it happen, and shook his head once more, kissing the bridge of her nose. “I only got frozen stuff. Oh and tissues, Vaseline and some cold store medicine, the news said to just in case-...”</p><p>Emma nodded, both happy he’d left it there, and he moved his hand in a circle on her lower back now. She shuffled further into his shoulder so she was fully leaning into him, looking so small in his lap. She played with her hand up and down his bicep, through his blazer she really always liked the feel of, especially after she connected it with him now. “Do you think we’ll have to start washing our groceries now?”</p><p>“Fuck.” Paul slid his clean hand over his face, having not thought of that yet, before bringing it down to stroke Emma’s. After all, she was already tapping his thigh so he was comforted. “Maybe.” </p><p>Groceries still forgotten and too much of an emotional and mental bother right now, Emma just moaned lightly as she leaned into his big hand, letting his fingers curl through her hair and resting against him. His hands were always fucking freezing, but, sometimes, they were so warm when they cuddled like this. </p><p>“How was your last day?” Emma moved on, looking up to Paul with big eyes as she spoke, even as the sun was setting and neither of the couple could be bothered to turn on the light, they lay there, getting used to the image of the other holding them that was burning into their minds.</p><p>Paul subtly moved his knees that were cramping, Emma just sliding into a different position that she held, while Paul picked at her fingers, playing with her hand in his free one that wasn’t scratching down her shoulder blades. He sighed long but light, warm on Emma’s cheeks below him. “It was hard saying bye to everyone. Bill, Charlotte, Melissa, even Ted and Mr. Davidson.”</p><p>She slung her arms around one of Pauls now, lightly burying her face and kissing against the material, hoping he could feel through it. She knew by the looks of him this morning when she made him his coffee, today was gonna be hard for him. </p><p>Chin resting in the crook of his elbow, she gave him a light smile. “Hey.” He looked down at her, he always looked to her or cutely tried desperately to avoid eye contact when he was talking. Emma tried to lighten his spirits. “I bet you weren’t the biggest crier though.” She lightly poked his waist and Paul squirmed, making a small sound she could never have described and she laughed, sinking her teeth into his arm lightly as she smiled, before turning it to another kiss. </p><p>After that, Paul just lifted his arms, Emma whining at the loss of the one on her bare back, before he took his jacket off, laying it over Emma and watching as she rolled his white sleeves up to his elbows, just how she liked to see them. She always said it looked good like that, and Paul was happy <em>that</em> was the reason she occasionally stared when he hung out with her just after work. She rested her chin on his bare arm now, rubbing her hand up through the hairs and freckles and toned muscles you wouldn’t expect he had under his suit, while the other hand reclaimed its rightful position back under her shirt and how his big grey jacket too, Emma sighing a little through her nostrils at the contact. “Nah. Bill was the biggest crier.”</p><p>Emma felt the hairs flick against her face as she gently lay her cheek on his arm instead, batting her eyes up at her boyfriend. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”</p><p>Luckily, Paul did nod. “I think it’ll be hard, but did you hear? Alice is still on the island.”</p><p>Emma’s head rose at that, the first bit of genuine good news they’d both heard in a while. “Oh that’s great! That’s great for them, right?!”</p><p>“Oh yeah. Bill’s psyched, and I know Alice is too, school closed early today and I managed to hug her goodbye.”</p><p>“Man I can’t believe kids are still gonna have to do some school shit.” Emma scoffed, shaking her head. “I hope at least they don’t have those exams she was stressing about, this is why kids skive.”</p><p>“Well I’m not sure how viable an option that is now.” Paul tapped her nose, Emma thought, but she saw him pulling away an eyelash that had fluttered on there. He held out his finger on instinct and she made a wish. One he wouldn’t even have to ask about.</p><p>“I am worried about Melissa though. I don’t know if she’ll be on many of the zoom calls, and she lives alone.”</p><p>“God I couldn’t do that.” Emma shook at the thought. She moved to lean in to Pauls touch, but he was already gyrating his hand faster. She looked up, wanting him to know through her eyes and hold only, how genuinely happy and lucky she felt that he’d let her in, that he wanted her. That she could stay with him. She felt like Paul had been a bit of a solitary man, he wasn’t exactly a party animal and probably could have gone a few weeks alone, if this was how long this was gonna last. But she also got to know a new, deeper, version of Paul, or maybe it had just been brought out by her and an actual true love connection, and fuck if he could go without her physical presence for a few months. </p><p>She was sure Paul understood, because honestly she felt like she was the same. And by the way he stayed silent for a good few seconds, before leaning down and pecking her lips. Emma made sure to lean up further, getting one more drawn out one in for herself, before letting Paul sigh softly against her lips and pull up for the sake of his neck, as she was basically curled up in his lap right now.</p><p>“Half of us were thinking Bill was gonna adopt Melissa so she could stay with him, ya know? It was almost a bet.” Paul finally told her, continuing with his train of thought. One of the only ones that wasn’t about the state of the world right now.</p><p>Emma nodded, smiling a little at the joke but moving so she was no longer watching Pauls lips move, or noting how his eyes still looked bright and colourful even in the dimming room, but now she rested her lips against his arm and she spoke into his skin. “Yeah I’m worried for Hidgens, cause he’s gonna be alone too.”</p><p>Paul looked down with a grimace, Emma already having briefly touched on the subject in bed last night. Neither of them got much sleep having just been talking, and Paul watched as she rubbed her hands up and down his arm in a motion she needed to run with. Hidgens was like a dad to her, he’d been getting better with Emma and he was Emma’s first friend on the island in years. Paul let her speak through her panics again.</p><p>“I mean... he was alone before, but he was hardly great then! You know?” She looked up for confirmation and Paul removed his hand from her back, she now had a tense grip on his other, until he stroked through her hair and she relaxed slightly. “But now he’s really gonna be alone, and who knows for how long!” She threw her hands up in the air exasperated, before slapping them back down on Paul. She did roll her head back though, when Paul pulled through strands that particularly made her neck and spine tingle, God he was so good at that. She sighed. “And with such legitimate reason so he paranoid...” </p><p>She let it hang there, but after a few moments of silence, moved Pauls hand back to her back where she liked it, missing and craving that feeling.</p><p>“W-Well isn’t Hidgens a like, doomsday prepper? These are very apocalyptic days Emma.”</p><p>“That’s not the point. In fact it might add onto the whole ‘he’s gonna go crazy’ thing!” She played with Pauls hand instead now, pouting.</p><p>“No, hold on.” Paul removed his hand and Emma stopped playing too, watching and waiting as he took both her hands in his, moving them to get a good grip, and squeezing. “So he’s probably really prepared for a couple of other last minute survivors along with him, right?”</p><p>Emma’s eyes widened, shocked she hadn’t thought of it herself yet. And then she looked around, to the unpacked groceries, and her unboxed belongings, and as Paul followed her view, they both squeezed to the other tight, just like how their hearts were at the realisation.</p><p>Paul gave Emma the softest, truest smile he had, a crinkle of the eyes, a wrinkle around his nose he lightly exhaled through and the corners of his lips, his teeth just bursting through his lips and he just glowed. “Everything will be okay.”</p><p>When they called Hidgens they were instructed he’d be there in two hours with an empty boot and that they could park their full cars in the garage too. Emma helped Paul pack his things, knowing there were a lot of things he’d need so he didn’t panic, to keep a routine and keep sane, and even though she wanted to move into her new home with Paul, she loved Hidgens, just like she loved Paul, and she loved that he was doing this for her and her dad figure. </p><p>They had one last quick laughter filled visit to their bed, just so they could officially christen the home before they moved out together, and in their last moment of true solitude for a while. Emma didn’t feel the need to tell Paul how big and private the house really was when you explored. </p><p>And Henry himself, was so glad. For the company, yes. And because he knew, Emma would be safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Go follow my tumblr for this account: @ourstarkidcrazyuniverse :-D</p><p> </p><p>I hope you enjoyed! I hope quarantine is going okay for some of y’all, and this could possibly be a light during it aha. It’s helping me through it to write this stuff down I think and I hope it is for you, bc I’m not trying to make light of the v serious issue at ALL, just hopefully help ppl. Just saw a friend (socially distanced) today and I feel like everything is right in my life rn I miss it but glad to be safe and glad other ppl are staying so too.</p><p>I hope this idea was okay as I have it for a few other characters (some mentioned here), I’m going to write abt this for. So I’m gonna make a few abt the quarantine for different characters setting up arrangements for how things are gonna go before the quarantine, and one or two during it, but this CAN DEFO WORK AS A ONE SHOT as can they all, they're made to be they just have the same setting/theme idk I guess abt what’s going on in their lives. So planned I’ve got two fics abt different groups and another continuing for one of the groups which has a plot that works in the setting of a lockdown together if that makes sense aha don’t wanna give too much away ;-) </p><p>But please let me know any and all comments! They really are a light during these days esp haha and esp if I’m gonna be adding a tad more to this setting!!</p><p>Thank you sm and stay safe g’all 💕</p></blockquote></div></div>
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